Trapped
by hichigomate
Summary: He's been trapped inside his mind for all eternity. It was okay, at first. Fun, in fact. But then an evil starts to slowly take over his comfort zone. Can Naruto somehow find a way to communicate with the world he's never experienced, and save himself?
1. It Begins

**Ayame: Well, here's where I say that I don't own Naruto!**

**Bloody: Yes, they wouldn't sell those characters to you. They've heard of all the obscene things you want to do to the characters within that manga.**

**Ayame: Sshh! No one's supposed to know that!**

**Bloody: They all already know! Think about it; you've got some twisted ideas in your mind. Especially because most of your stories have sucky endings, or some sort of horror in them!**

**Ayame: That isn't my fault! They turn out that way! And besides, the twisted part comes from you; you ****are**** my alternate personality, you know.**

**Bloody: Oh, you know you love me. Now, are you going to start writing your story, or are you going to argue with me all day?**

**Ayame: Fine! Whatever! Sorry about this; continue reading down. I got a little side-tracked. Don't forget the very detailed summary and the warning!**

**Summary: Imagine this: you cannot see, you cannot speak. You have chosen to not hear those around you. You are a shell, trapped within your own mind. You are unable to communicate with the outside world. But it isn't all that bad. After all, your mind can be an amazing place. But what happens when someone infiltratres that peaceful, imaginative world? What happens when you can't trust your own mind? How will you gain control again? Can you find a way to finally communicate with those around you, and somehow have them help you fight this evil that's found it's way into your sanctuary? Read on and find out. Although, this time it isn't "you" that's here; it's my poor Naruto. He's stuck within his own mind, trapped for what seems like eternity. You'll find out why if you read! Also, yaio, yes. Naruto and someone! Who? I'm thinking...Itachi. Yes, I've done an ItaNaru already, but I just can't help myself! I hope you aren't mad!**

**Warning: This will be mostly fantasy/adventure, but there will be yaoi; if you don't like it, I suggest you skip this story. Although, you'll be missing out. Telling you now: there will most likely be hints of rape, torture, massive beating, maybe lemons, murder, most likely character death, swearing, and that's about it! If you're opposed to any of that, again, that little green/blue/purple button in the left hand corner takes you back a page!**

**Trapped**

**It Begins**

It was the anniversary of the day he'd had Kyuubi sealed inside him. Well, perhaps "anniversary" is the wrong word for it. But, it would have to do for now. He had just turned three; he was old enough to understand it. Old enough to understand the hatred and fear directed at him. And it made him burn inside; him and Kyuubi both.

But it didn't matter. It never mattered.

So, today, on the anniversary of that horrendous beginning of his, he sat alone. He sat alone on that swing, the swing that no one else went on because a "monster" spent so much time on it.

He was thinking.

People think that children know nothing, and cannot think by themselves. That isn't true. After all, here he sat, thinking on those who hated him. He really had nothing else to do.

He thought on the Yondaime, the Fourth Hokage, who had sealed the Kyuubi inside him when he was a baby. In truth, he hated that man, for damning him to a half-life. In truth, it wasn't even that. It was a sliver of a life, something so short he wasn't really living.

Well, that's how he thought anyway.

His little life, about to be ruined even more than it already was.

He could still remember that day, swinging back and forth as he watched the sun sink lower and lower. He was still thinking on how much the world wasn't the beautiful place that others called it.

And then **he** appeared.

He was wearing an odd outfit, an off-white shirt and pants with a roped lilac belt. His long black hair covered oddly-curved earings, and elongated pupils set in eerie yellow eyes stared back at his child form. The man's skin was a pasty grayish color.

He was definitely a creepy fellow, and the boy didn't like him at all. Neither did Kyuubi, who protested loudly in his mind. But it didn't help.

The man walked foreword slowly, his words a slow hiss when he spoke.

"A little, little foxx, ssitting all alone. How cruel."

He shivered, pushing the swing back a little farther, trying uselessly to escape such a weird fellow.

"Now, now. There'ss no need to run. I won't hurt you. I want to help you."

He began to shake his head; he didn't want help. He wanted nothing to do with anyone.

"Oh, hussh already. There'ss no one to help you, sso jusst give up already."

He was right. There was nothing to fight for; no one to fight for. So he relaxed. Dying wouldn't be so bad, after all.

Kyuubi didn't think so. He tried to fight, but there was nothing the kitsune could do. He had control of the body, after all.

The man slowly walked foreword once more, standing now directly in front of him. He reached out a grayish hand, wrapping it around his child's small neck. A simple twist was all it would take. A simple twist to end it all.

But apparently the snake had other ideas. His hand began to glow, infusing the boy's body with an odd blue tint.

Something was happening. His vision was darkening, his body going numb. He didn't understand it; what was happening?

He went limp, unable to even think anymore. And then it all disappeared.

* * *

He slowly opened his eyes. Wait, this wasn't right. Where was he?

The sky above him wasn't its normal shade of blue, the color of his eyes. Instead, it was a pale shade of red, almost orange. The clouds were a darker red, much darker; like fresh blood, they were almost black.

Looking around, he noticed tall trees all around him. The bark was a pretty shade of green, like warm grass, while the leave were a freesia color. The grass on which he lay was the same color as those leaves.

Turning again, he noticed he was laying on the bank of a large lake. Although, the water wasn't a clear blue color. Instead, it was blood; it even smelled like blood. It was thick, too, and there didn't appear to be any fish swimming in the water.

Flowers surrounded him; he appeared to be laying in a flower field. There were Sakura flowers, Nadeshiko flowers, Tulips, Crysanthinims, Irises, and the occassinal rose. There were also Cherry trees and Wisteria trees. Every one of the flowers were their original color, of which he was glad.

Sitting up, he winced, noticing his body was stiff. Something was definitely wrong here.

_Kyuubi? Where am I? What's going on?_

He had though it, but the words echoed around him on a swift wind that tousled his sun-kissed hair. It was as if he'd spoken aloud.

Suddenly, a sound to his right. He turned, and fell back in shock.

Standing behind him was what looked like a giant dark-orange kitsune, standing over ten feet tall. It had nine tails, all stretched out around it. Its red eyes were glowing in black-rimmed eyesockets.

This wasn't right, either. That was Kyuubi, the nine-tailed youkai. He wasn't supposed to be in tangible form! What was going on?!

**"Relax, kit. Yes, it's me, Kyuubi. You know that already. In answer to your question as to where you are, you're inside your mind. That man you saw earlier did something to your body, your soul, and trapped you inside your consciousness."**

He kept his head on the ground, a little afraid. But he spoke up anyway.

"I don't understand. How can that happen? I thought he was just going to kill me?"

Kyuubi rolled his body foreword, laying down next to the child's prone body.

**"I do not understand that much myself. It was an odd type of jutsu, one I haven't seen for centuries. I will have to think on it. But, I should tell you now. It does not appear as though you will be leaving your mind in the near future. You might as well get used to being here."**

The boy turned his head into that warm, soft fur, feeling his eyes burning slightly. He was really afraid; he didn't want to be trapped.

But wait. Kyuubi had been trapped inside him for three years now, and he survived. Sure, he was crabby all the time, and insulted him often, but he was there, and he knew the kitsune wasn't bad off. Perhaps it wouldn't be bad for him, either?

"Kyuubi, will I be okay here? I mean, can I survive here?"

Kyuubi was silent for a long time, curling a few huge tails around that frail body. Finally, he answered.

**"You will survive. You must. Don't be so afraid, kit. I have been living here for three years, as you just thought. It's kind of nice living here. You can create anything you want here, with no consequences what so ever. And no one can tell you "no" here. No one can hurt you here. Yes, you will survive."**

The child sighed; it didn't sound so bad. And after all, he had Kyuubi with him. The fox was right; he would survive.

_Naruto Uzumaki, three years old. Kyuubi container. And trapped in his mind, now, for all eternity. _

_Let the adventures begin._

**Well, that's the first chapter. It's going to get better, trust me. I personally like the inside of Naruto's mind, which I didn't want to be just be that cage. It's nice, don't get me wrong. Just not a good place for him to live for a while. Anyway, the next chapter, hm, I dunno. A few years later? He's surviving, all right. He's having fun, too. Next, he'll be playing around in his make-believe world. That evil doesn't come to haunt him yet, but it will. Well, please review for me, so I can continue!**

**Ayame**


	2. To Change Oneself

**Disclaimer: It's the same as the last chapter. Anyway, just a little something to tell you, since it'll probably be a little confusing: Naruto's about 7 in this chapter; so only four years have passed. Of course, he has no concept of time in his mind, but you get the drift, right? Anyway, just to warn you! It's all about him learning, and excercising, his limitations and such in his mind. Enjoy!**

**Warning: See last chapter, please. I'll reiterate it every few chapters, so you'll remember it.**

**Trapped**

**To Change Oneself**

_Naruto's Reflection:_

Kyuubi had been right; it was much better living here than in that village. It had taken him nearly a year and a half to gain complete control of himself here, though.

It had been hard, at first. He'd been clumsy, and it felt like his whole body was weighted down, as if he'd been wearing weights all over his body. He'd gotten light-headed and dizzy easily, and had needed to rest often. But that had dissipitated within half a year.

The rest was harder. Kyuubi had begun teaching how to conjure things, such as food and water, in his mind, should he ever need it. It was horrible. They always turned out deformed, missing certain parts, and even attacked him at times.

But then he'd somehow gotten it. He'd managed to conjure up an apple, and felt something like a gentle suction in the middle of his forehead. Kyuubi had said that that was what he needed to feel to correctly conjure something and, knowing that, it had become easy to make any kind of food he wanted.

But then it got harder again. Kyuubi had begun teaching him how to conjure up more complex things, such as a small spring, a tree, and rocks. Months was what it took him to master that technique, but he got the hang of it once he got that certain feeling again.

This feeling was a more powerful suction, but the same, and after that, it became easier for him.

Now, Kyuubi was teaching him something different; changing his tangible form into anything he wanted. This was the hardest yet; he'd already been told not to look for the suction in the middle of his forehead, as that wouldn't happen. It was getting just a little bit too hard for poor seven year old Naruto. But he would master it, for he had nothing else to do.

_Present: With Naruto:_

Naruto sighed and crashed on the soft grass, giving a little groan as his tired muscles protested the movement. He'd gotten used to the gravity here years ago, and his body felt light, lighter even than in the real world, but when he was tired like this, it felt more weighted.

"Kyuubi! This is too hard to do! Can't you give me a little hint?" Naruto whined, his tan, whiskerless face hopeful.

The kitsune youkai sighed and settled his giant form on the ground near a spring, cleaning his paw.

**"I've told you before, kit: I won't give you any hints. You need to figure this out on your own, or you won't get it at all."** The kitsune replied, looking down at his vessel.

The boy had grown, but not much; it was just a reflection of his comatose body in the real world. He was still very short, but his sun-kissed hair was long; it fell to his mid-back. His sharp claws were long, and his eyes still that clear blue. His body was free of any blemishes or scars, except for an odd three-pronged mark on the back of his neck. He wore a simple orange shirt and orange shorts, shades brighter than Kyuubi's own dark-orange fur.

Kyuubi was actually surprised at his vessel; for being so young, and so traumatized at such a young age, he took to his own mind quite well. It was kind of...impressive. Although, it seemed like he was still a ways from mastering this new technique.

Naruto sighed and flicked a clawed hand, watching as an apple slowly appeared, first just a spattering of sparks, then the actual form. Not even flinching at the slight tugging of his skin, he reached and pulled up the apple, using his fangs to bite into it. It was juicy, and sweet. Just the way he liked it.

"Well, I'm thinking of trying it in a spring next. I've noticed that trying to do this makes my muscles tense, and usually cramp, so the cold should help with that. Also, though, I always get extremely hot whenever I try to change form, so the cold should help with that, too, right?"

Kyuubi schooled his features, although he was surprised. **So, the kit's figuring it out, eh? That's unusual; he's usually slow to pick up on these things. Maybe training in his mind has actually made him smarter. Heh.**

Kyuubi looked away, watching the small pond slowly sparkle into view. **He's right, though. Changing form is basically forcing the molecules that make up your body deform, move around, and reattach themselves to different molecules, creating a whole new form. It tenses the muscles if you're inexperienced, and the movement of the molecules heats up the body. Perhaps I was wrong in thinking he would take longer to do this.**

Naruto stood and stretched, flicking his hand again to make the apple disappear. Removing his shirt, he stepped into the spring, nearly purring as the frigid water eased his muscles. He went down, covering even his head in the water, before emerging, so that the water was level with his waist. He moved his arms in their most comfortable position; one resting against his neck while the other rested against the seal on his stomach.

Closing his eyes, he envisioned first his arm, the one resting against the seal. It was solid, but not for long. He imagined it dissintegrating, thousands of tiny particles that seperated themselves from each other, and just rested there, in the air where his arm was supposed to be.

There; that wasn't so hard.

Now came the hard part. Next, he imagined each of those particles connected to a different particle, not the same one as before, as they began to form another solid object; a tail. It was stationary. First the base appeared, just in sparkles; it slowly thickened, forming the furry appendage he imagined. It was stationary, blond like his hair, and solid.

He didn't notice the burning sensation up near his shoulder until Kyuubi spoke.

**"You know, kit, something smaller, simpler, would have been better. In my opinion, at least."**

Naruto opened his eyes to look at the kitsune, but instead found them trained on something sticking out from his side. Something blond, and long...A tail! He actually had made the tail!

But, the minute he thought that, the tail dissintegrated into the sparkles, and his tan arm reappeared; the burning sensation disappeared. Surprised, a little disheartened, Naruto looked at his youkai for help.

**"That was pretty good. But a little hard for your first, don't you think? Did you notice a burning?"**

Naruto had to think about it; he was too excited about his victory, then defeat, to think straight. But he did remember, and still felt a slight twinge in his shoulder. He nodded.

**"As I thought. If you do just a part of your body to change, that will happen. Once you master the technique, and transform your whole body at once, it won't burn. Did you notice anything else?"**

Naruto blinked and nearly fell, turning so he could rest on the ground, out of the spring. His whole arm felt like a thousand needles were poking it, but he ignored it for the moment.

Now that he thought about it, he had felt something; a warm, almost sharp feeling in the middle of his chest. It seemed to originate from the seal, although on the inside of his body, not on his skin.

"Yeah. A sharp feeling, in my stomach. Well, deeper than that, but...it's hard to describe." He sounded frustrated, and Kyuubi laughed.

**"That's it, alright. Sharp, warm, kind of fuzzy. It's different for everyone, but always the same. Well, you want to create that feeling each time you change. As long as you maintain that feeling, you'll be able to create a new body for yourself."**

Naruto nodded; it was confusing, but the same thing as conjuring up food. Only, there was a different feeling involved. He could do it now!

_A few days later..._

"Kyuubi! Kyuubi! Look at this!"

The shrill voice sounded like it was directly in his ear, and Kyuubi snarled. He hated being woken up more than anything! But, the kit sounded urgent, so he figured he might as well wake up and find out what was bothering him.

Opening his eyes, he blinked, just to make sure he was really seeing this. Before him, instead of Naruto's pretty face and bright hair, he saw an orange muzzle, sharp teeth, and cute little orange kitsune ears. Down his eyes went; instead of arms and a tan torso, he saw small paws, and a furry belly. Looking downward some more, Kyuubi snorted. It seemed the kit still had a little ways to go.

Below the furry chest were two tan, very human legs that had a spatting of orange fur in odd places. He still hadn't gotten it completely right, but it was a very impressive start.

**And there's the second chapter. Still boring, I think, but fun. It'd be cool to change form, don't you think? Anyway, the next chapter, he'll be twelvish. He's going to start noticing his perfect little world is changing subtly, but not enough to worry. Still not the correct time yet; that'll be chapter four, where it really begins. I can't wait for it! Review for me, won't you?**

**Ayame**


	3. Premonition

**Disclaimer: I'm not going to say it again, folks! But I will remind you of this: in this chapter, Naruto is about twelve years old, nearly thirteen. It's when he first notices the outside influence slowly entering his mind. But it's more of a premonition than an actual occurance, so the real trouble begins in the next chapter. Sorry, not yet!**

**Warning: See the first chapter; I'll reiterate it in the next chapter, alright?**

**Trapped**

**Premonition**

It was so fun, to surf these branches of the huge, twisting trees he'd created to inhabit his world. They curved around one another, twisting and bending, often reaching down to the ground and up into the clouds. It was an amazing sight to see. And below them were hills, huge boulders as big as houses, if not bigger, and long streams winding through what he now considered to be a forest.

Last year, he'd mastered the technique of creating living animals, ones that moved and lived on their own. Now, rabbits, deer, little foxes, a few bears, and even snakes inhabited his world, along with him and Kyuubi. He even had birds, which included hawks, owls, hummingbirds, and finches.

It was his own little paradise, and he loved it.

"This is amazing! Kyuubi, are you up there?"

Naruto laughed aloud, swiftly running down the length of the three-foot wide branch that connected from a huge oak to the ground, winding around another oak tree. Above him, Kyuubi grunted, running across another branch parallel to his own. His tails were stretched out behind him; he used a few to grip a branch to his left and swing onto it.

"Yahoo!" Naruto let out a cry, jumping up onto the boulder he was nearing on his branch.

So used to these huge rocks and tree limbs, he didn't even slip when landing on the mossy surface. A loud thump next to him signaled the arrival of Kyuubi, who decided it was time for a rest.

**"Damn, kit, who knew you liked to run so far? Did you add more trees and branches while I was sleeping? That bend a few miles back wasn't there yesterday."**

Naruto smirked; he loved being able to surprise his youkai. "Yeah; I was getting bored with the old design. I'm also thinking we need a few wolves in here, and maybe some more flowers."

Kyuubi snorted now, still panting. **"I never would have took you for a flower person, kit."**

Naruto scoffed and pushed at the giant creature, offended now. "I'm not! It's just that the rabbits have little rabbits now, and they'll need more grass and flowers to eat!"

**Such a softie,** Kyuubi thought, but didn't say it out loud. He didn't want to get pushed again, although it hadn't hurt. Aloud, he said, **"Well, then, why don't you get to it? And while you're at it, make us a little lunch."**

Kyuubi had subtly been getting Naruto to conjure, and change, things at the same time now. Naruto could change his form while creating live animals now, which was no small feat. In fact, it was quite difficult, and had taken Kyuubi more time than Naruto to learn how to do. To say the least, he was impressed, although he'd never say it.

Naruto smiled and waved one hand, making some meat and fruit for them to eat, while using his other hand to materialize a large, white wolf. It, like all other things, went through the process of being just tiny sparkles that slowly connected to one another, before becoming the solid form of a full-grown, beautiful wolf. Frowning, Naruto added a spring, before leaning his forehead against the muzzle of the wolf.

"Here are the rules: you cannot attack your creator, me, or my youkai, Kyuubi there. You must also keep your kills clean, and not stain my flower field, which is over there. If you have problems, you bring them to me."

Sometime amid his years of learning, Naruto had gotten the idea to give his creations minds of their own, and could communicate with them at will. They had freewill, but all had to follow the rules he'd set. It was the way he wanted it.

"Say, Kyuu, should I give him a mate? That would be best, right?" Naruto asked; although he was very mature for his age, he was still a child, and often sought the kitsune's opinion on the things he did.

Kyuubi looked up from his feast, and answered, **"Yes, that would be best. Living a solitary life, even for a lonesome creature such as a wolf, would not be a good life to live. Make him a mate. He will need someone here that can be with him more than we can."**

Naruto nodded and motioned for the wolf to stand off to the side, which it did, its yellow eyes watching his every move. It took him a bit longer to make the female, as creating females had always been tough for him. He was, after all, a boy, and didn't know much about the opposite sex. But he did create the mate and, following the same procedure as with the male wolf, allowed both to leave and make their homes in the forest.

He stretched out beside the warm body of Kyuubi, and nibbled a piece of meat. Living with a kitsune made you develop a taste for things you wouldn't normally eat, especially raw. He laid there for a few minutes, before informing his large friend of something that had been bothering him for many nights now.

"Kyuubi, have you noticed anything...weird here lately?"

The fox laid his head in his paws, closing his eyes before answering. **"Can't say that I have. Why? What have you been noticing?"** Although he hadn't seen anything suspicious, Kyuubi knew that if Naruto had, he had to pay attention to it. After all, the person the mind belonged to would know if something was wrong.

"Well, I don't really know. Sometimes, usually at night, I'll notice that scar burning. You know, the one on the back of my neck that I got from that weird guy when I was three? When I was first trapped in here?" Kyuubi nodded, a signal for him to continue. "Okay, well, I noticed something else besides that. The flowers here...they're dying. Well, wilting, really, and I didn't make them that way."

Kyuubi opened his eyes suddenly, his mind racing. That definitely wasn't supposed to happen. Nothing in this world, in Naruto's mind, was supposed to happen unless Naruto willed it. Unless...

**"Kit, have you felt any, I don't know, any weird sensations in your mind lately? Not here, but in your head."**

"Like what?" Naruto asked, confused.

**"Well, for starters, a burning. Not on your skin, or when you're doing something. If you're just laying there, and you feel your mind start to burn, or you feel as if someone is trying to pull your mind from your body. Have you felt that?"**

Naruto shook his head truthfully; he had no idea what the kitsune was talking about now.

Kyuubi sighed, a little relieved. **"Never mind, then, Kit. Go to sleep. I want to go for another run later on."**

Naruto nodded and obediantly closed his eyes, resting against a paw. He was pretty tired.

Kyuubi lifted his muzzle, scenting the air. Perhaps he'd been wrong. At least, he hoped he'd been wrong. For, if someone was trying to take possession of Naruto's mind, they'd both be in serious trouble. But, no one was, since the kit hadn't felt those things that signaled someone was trying to steal your mind.

It was probably just his imagination, and Naruto was just feeling something else.

Right?

**Yeah, it's shorter than the others, but whatever. You'll get over it, right? And there's the first chapter! You've gotten a little something about what's going to happen! Hm, hm, hm. Anyway, next chapter it's finally the correct timeline! Naruto is seventeen, and that premonition is going to happen! But, how could he be in danger in his own mind? He could do anything in there, right? Stay tuned to find those answers out! Please review for me!**

**Ayame**


	4. The Gateway Appears

**Disclaimer: Refer back to the two chapters. But in case you're too lazy to do that, I'll just tell you again: I don't own Naruto, and I never will. So get over it already, and continue reading downward. Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, and those of you who aren't: Naruto is staying alive even though he's in a comatose state because he was found as a child by Tsunade, who put him in the hospital. They've been feeding him and keeping him hydrated through an IV. Of course, he's practically anorexic, but that's beside the point.**

**Warning: Evidence of rape, swearing, most likely lemons, um, slight randomness, and craziness. That's about it.**

**Trapped**

**The Gateway Appears**

Five more years passed, each filled with joy for Naruto. He was so accustomed to his life in his mind that he really couldn't imagine not living in there any more. And every night, he felt that strange feeling, that unusual feeling of something trying to take over his mind. That, and it felt like he was being watched all the time. But he ignored it, as Kyuubi had advised him to do all those years ago.

So, he was seventeen now and, according to Kyuubi, looking more like a girl than the boy he was. His blond hair was very light, and fell to just past his waist, while his light blue eyes held a sparkle to them that should only belong to a girl. Of course, he didn't care, because there was no one who could see him like this. He still wore those dumb orange shorts, although he had a black, tight shirt that showed off his tight abs. He was in great shape, too, because of all the training and running he did in his mind. Basically, he was a perfect example of a teenager in his prime.

His mind world had only grown larger and inhabited by more complex creatures as the years went by. Surprisingly, he grew more mature, and smarter, if you can believe that, as they went by as well. Kyuubi himself was surprised by that.

Both had become so comfortable with each other that they felt as if they were brothers, as if they were the only two people in the world. Which, at the moment, they were. They knew each other so well that both knew when something was wrong with the other. Just like Kyuubi knew something was bothering Naruto this day. So what does he do? He asks him about his problem, of course, being as blunt as possible! Of course, he had to find the little rascal first, who seemed to be disappearing a lot more lately.

First things first, to change! Kyuubi had taken to changing his appearance to that of a human, to better help Naruto train, and to amuse himself. It was as easy for him as for Naruto; it only took him a few seconds to turn into a human. He was tan, much like Naruto, although about half a head taller. And his hair was a dark orange, the color of his fur, although messy like Naruto's. His eyes retained their red appearance, although the pupils were elongated. He wore no shirt, just black slacks. Neither of them wore shoes, as both found them uncomfortable.

Shaking out his clawed hands, Kyuubi smirked, before setting off, jumping into a high branch looming over him. Using his swift feet and fair sense of smell, he tracked Naruto's strange scent of peppermint and spice. He started to get confused when the scent led him to a sparkling lake, where Naruto was standing, staring up at the sky.

He was just standing there, on the edge, and Kyuubi looked around before walking up to his counterpart. Noticing that Naruto didn't even seem to hear him walk up, he looked up, where the kid was looking. O-h. That wasn't supposed to be there. At least, he didn't think it was supposed to be there.

After all, why would Naruto create a giant door up above the Koi Lake, a door about three feet thick and red on one side, while black on the other. On the red door were odd designs, large iron symbols in the kanji symbol for Ai. The back of the red door, the black door, was plain, with only a giant red symbol in the middle. It was a red eye with three petals settled at perfect angles around the pupil. The door was covered in ivy on the sides, and large, about as large as Kyuubi in his true form. This definitely wasn't something Naruto would create, so what was it doing here?

Kyuubi started when Naruto suddenly spoke; he hadn't even been aware the blond knew he was standing there.

"What do you make of that, Kyuubi?" Naruto wondered aloud, still staring up at the door.

Kyuubi had to stop and think before answering, a rarity for him. **"Did you create it?"** Was the only thing he could think to say at the moment.

Naruto finally turned, his face serious for once. "I did not. Why would I create a door in my mind? It's not like I can go anywhere."

**"Well, I guess that makes sense."**

"Speaking of sense, I don't like what I sense from that...thing. It feels...off." The vessel plopped himself down on the bank of Koi Lake, closing his eyes.

**"How so?"** Kyuubi asked, sitting down beside the blond.

"It's hard to explain. It's like...if I get too close to the door, I feel like I'll be sucked away. And it feels...wrong. Evil, is the only thing I can think of to describe it."

**Hm. It appears my fears five years ago weren't groundless, after all. This is bad. Somehow, someone has managed to create a doorway into the kit's mind, linking them together. This isn't good; this isn't good at all.**

"Kyuubi? Did you hear me?"

The youkai started for the second time in ten minutes, turning to stare at his vessel. "What did you say?" He asked, his eyes hard.

Naruto turned his head a little. "Well, I was just saying that I'd like to investigate it. I want to see where that doorway leads. Are you okay with that?"

Instead of just thinking inside his own mind, like he was prone to doing just to piss of Naruto, Kyuubi decided to speak his thoughts. **"Well, that would probably be best. But, you will connect with me now, and stay connected with me at all times. I will not resist losing you to some unknown evil."**

Naruto agreed to these terms and held out a tan hand, silent as Kyuubi placed his hand in it. Both closed their eyes, feeling their energies connect. Kyuubi disappeared, the tiny particles that made up his body settling around Naruto's body, giving the vessel an eerily glowing appearance.

Naruto sighed when it was finished, feeling energized and euphoric. "Are you ready?" He asked the air, hearing Kyuubi's response between his ears. "Then lets go."

He jumped up, creating a branch without a thought that stopped just in front of the red door, and stood there trying to figure out if he really wanted to do this. But, he was already there, waiting, and pulled on the small knoll centered in the middle of the red wood.

It swung open with no sound, leading into a dark space with a trace of wind.

_It's now or never._ He thought, before jumping into the darkness.

**Well, that's my...fourth chapter? Yeah, fourth. I was going to put him entering the mind of the person he's connected to, but I'm quitting now cause I've got school in the morning, and my brother wants me to play a game with him. So, please review for me, and keep watching for the next chapter!**

**Ayame**


	5. The Mind Of A Killer

**Disclaimer: Just refer to the last chapter, please. As I said before, this chapter is, well, Naruto gets a look at the mind of the person he's been mysteriously bonded to. Who will it be?? I don't know! Oh, wait, actually, I just got the perfect idea of who he's going to be bonded to. You guys are either going to love it, or you're going to hate it. I hope you love it, cause I think it's going to be funny! By the way, of ****course**** the person who accidentally, and I've now decided it wasn't on purpose, became attached to Naruto I've tried to make it as obvious as possible.**

**Trapped**

**The Mind Of A Killer**

It was difficult, to say the least. He felt as if he were being suffocated, trapped in that mindless darkness that surrounded him. He couldn't even hear Kyuubi, even though they were bonded. He felt nothing, heard nothing; he was trapped in what felt like limbo. It was horrible, the worst thing he'd ever felt.

But then, it all changed. He was back in darkness, but it wasn't the same. He could feel again, breathe again, and he sighed heavily. Thank goodness. And he could feel Kyuubi again; they were still connected.

**Kit, where did you go just now? I lost complete contact with you.** Kyuubi's voice sounded in his head.

Naruto couldn't really think up a good reply, but he tried his best. _I don't know. It...I just felt like I was...gone. It was horrible._

Kyuubi was silent then, thinking as he allowed himself access to the memories of what had just happened. He had the same reaction as Naruto. He was about to comment on what he decided to label "the void" when he suddenly felt another presence.

**Kit, prepare yourself. It appears you are about to encounter the intruder of your mind.**

The vessel stiffened, turning to stare into the darkness. Although, it wasn't as dark anymore. Something was filling up the dark, replacing it with an almost red sky. A barren wasteland appeared, covered in sand and dead trees. Shrubs that looked as if they'd only just survived a fire appeared next, lining up in the dirt as what appeared to be a sandstorm started.

But, that wasn't the weirdest part of this new land. This was only half of place he ended up in. The other half was the part that confused him. It was flowery, much like his own world, full of candy trees and candy flowers. It looked like a child's playground, perfect for a young one. Yep, that was definintely odd.

In the play area, something started to form. Or rather, some_one_. It was a shortish man, one wearing a spiraled orange mask with one black eye socket. He had dark hair, and wore a simple cloak that covered his entire body. His fingernails were painted a dark purple. He seemed to have a childlike aura about him, and yet at the same time he seemed dangerous. An odd combination.

"How did you get here?" The man asked beligerantly as he suddenly appeared in the barren wasteland area.

Naruto stepped back, and noticed that the door that brought him here disappeared. _Uh oh, this is bad. Kyuubi? What should I do?_ He thought at the kitsune, a little scared. No, scratch that, a lot scared.

**Calm yourself, kit. Perhaps this is all a misunderstanding. It appears this man-child doesn't know what you're doing here, or how you got here. Answer his question. Maybe he has something important to tell us.**

Naruto nodded, and turned back to the masked man. "I don't really know how I got here. I was walking, and ended up here. Who are you?"

The masked man seemed to glare at him, but it was hard to tell through the mask. Suddenly, he disappeared, and reappeared in the play area, before answering cheerfully.

"Tobi is Tobi! Who are you?"

"Um, I'm Naruto. Do you know where we are?" Naruto asked, a little disgruntled at the fast-changing moods of the man-child.

"We're in Tobi's mind! Tobi made it up, for fun, and is glad to have someone else to play with!" The masked boy/man fairly squealed, jumping happily with a lollipop in his hand.

"Uh, riiight...Um, I think it's about time I go. I really shouldn't be here." Naruto started backing away, smiling nervously.

He didn't get far. The masked man, Tobi he guessed, suddenly appeared behind him, his voice dangerous when he spoke next.

"You aren't going anywhere. You've invaded my mind, and that is unforgivable. The only thing to do now is...destroy your mind self completely."

Naruto shivered and turned, trying to run, but Kyuubi had taken control of his body. The kitsune now spoke through him, at Tobi.

**"That would not be wise. I believe it would be better to sit and talk about this. Then, after you've heard what we have to say and still don't trust us, you may destroy us."**

Tobi was standing there, motionless; the newcomers couldn't have known that he was practically shaking in fear. He'd never heard a more threatening voice before, not even from Pein and Itachi! It was horrible! And it definitely wasn't the same high-pitched voice from the teenager that he'd been using earlier. Was the boy perhaps possessed? That might explain a lot. But then he realized the blond was still waiting for an answer, and switched to his child-like persona.

"Tobi will sit and talk with Naruto. Tobi is curious as to how Naruto appeared in Tobi's mind."

Naruto nodded, back in control, and sat down where he was. Tobi joined him, sitting across from him. They just sat there, staring at one another, until finally, Naruto broke the silence.

"So, have you noticed anything here that you didn't put there, something _wrong_?" He asked, scratching the back of his head.

Tobi cocked his head to the side, thinking. "Tobi has no doors in his mind. There has been no need for them. Why would you ask Tobi such a thing?"

And with that, Naruto explained all about his red and black door, and how he'd ventured into it to find out more information. He left out anything that involved Kyuubi; people often reacted differently when finding out he was a youkai vessel.

Tobi listened calmly to every word that Naruto said, and didn't bother to comment until he'd finished speaking. When the person he'd first considered an intruder was done, he sighed, sitting back and thinking. It didn't take him long to come to the obvious conclusion. And apparently, he had switched to his more "mature" personality.

"Well, it appears that we have connected together. Something, or someone, has done something to us, what I'm not certain, but whatever it is we are now bonded." Naruto nodded, understanding. "So, the only thing to do now is accept it, and use it to our advantage."

Here was where he lost Naruto. "Huh?" He asked, his blue eyes widening in confusion.

Tobi sighed. How better to explain this? But, it appeared he didn't have to. Kyuubi was taking over that job for him.

**Listen well, kit. I'll only explain this once. Why do I have to do this? :sigh: Well, it appears as though this Tobi has figured you must be a good guy. He's allowing you access into his mind, a place sacred to any hu-well, creature. To do so is amazing; he's trusting you. I think you should do the same. After all, you could learn some things from this guy that'll help you later on. We could also teach him a few things that we know.**

_O-h, I see now. Thanks!_ Naruto smiled, nodding. Aloud, he said, "Okay! I'll accept you, too! Although, I can't allow you into my mind yet; it probably isn't safe. And, I don't trust you enough, even though you trust me. I'm...sorry."

Tobi's one eye socket warmed, and he shook his head. "That's alright. I really don't trust you that much. What you're seeing right now is a trick I learned, something to keep intruders confused until I can destroy them. Once I know you better, I'll maybe let you see my real world."

Naruto's eyes widened further. "Really? You can make your mind look like this to anyone, while it really looks like something else?! Do you think you could teach me to do that?" He asked, leaning foreword eagerly.

Tobi looked taken aback, before he eagerly jumped up. "Sure! Tobi will teach you! Come on!" He took Naruto's hand, leading him to the candy world.

It was time to start a new training regimen, and Naruto was as eager as he'd ever been. Apparently, this wasn't as bad as he'd thought it'd be.

But little did the Kyuubi vessel know that this was all an insidious plot concocted by that same man who'd destroyed the link between his mind and body so many years ago. He was hoping that it would all go according to plan, and so far there didn't seem to be a problem with it. Of course, things usually never go according to plan. Would this? Who knows.

**And there it is. Yes, the evil is there, and no, it isn't Tobi. Gosh, I love Tobi! Him and Deidara and Gaara, that is. Anyway, I think this might really be going well. I hope. But, ah, please review for me! Don't forget, flames are welcome because they're great for making smores!**

**Ayame**


	6. Finding Yourself Again

**Dislcaimer: And here we are with the…sixth chapter? Or is it the seventh? Well, it's titled the sixth, but who knows. Anyway, Bloody's telling me to get on with the disclaimer, so let's do it! It's the same, though; I don't own, I never will own, and all that good stuff. Although, I do have something to say; this story? It feels like forever since I wrote some of it. Eh, whatever. I'm going back to it because I want to. Although, what I really need to start writing is Youkai High, but I really don't feel like writing that during French. So it's Trapped! Um, just enjoy the story, please.**

**Warning: If I wrote one, it's in the other chapters, so just refer to them.**

**Trapped**

**Finding Yourself Again**

"Augh, so tiring!" Naruto complained, stretching his cramping muscles. Although living in your mind gives you no concept of time, and since you aren't really in a tangible body, your body can't really get tired, but training for hours on end really wears on you. "Hey, Tobi, are we done here? I think I want to go back to my mind, now."

Tobi, who was sitting on the ground a few feet away as he licked his lollipop, looked up at the Kyuubi vessel, before he shrugged. "If you can find a way to leave, then leave. Nothing's really keeping you here."

Naruto gave him a dark look, obviously his way of saying that the comment was unnecessary. _Kyuubi? Any ideas? You did get us into this mess, after all._

He had the impression of a snort. **What? You're the one who decided to leave your mind and investigate the new door. So what're you blaming me for?**

_What are __you_ _talking about? __You__ told me to investigate! I wanted to leave it alone! Now think up a way to leave Tobi's mind!_

Kyuubi sighed; this was getting annoying. So, instead of continuing the argument, which could have gone on for a while, he stopped and thought. It took him a few minutes to actually come up with a good idea, though. **Why not just look around? I'm sure you can run into the door again. Or better yet, have Tobi release his illusion, and you can search for the door together.**

Naruto thought about it, and decided that it was a pretty good plan. All right, he'd go with it. "Hey, Tobi? Do you think you could release your illusion and show me your real mind, so I can search for the door that brought me here?"

Tobi instantly reverted to his other personality, which Naruto had learned was called "Madara." This personality glared at him through that weird one eye as he stood. "I'm not showing you my real mind. You have no right to ask such a thing from me."

"So you aren't going to allow me to leave? But you just said I could!"

Madara sighed. "I didn't say I wasn't going to allow you to leave. I merely said that I wasn't going to show you my mind. Here are all the doors of my mind. If you can find the one leading back to your mind, you can leave."

Naruto looked confused, but his expression cleared when 13 doors suddenly surrounded him and Tobi/Madara. _Wow; that's a lot of doors. How can someone be connected to so many other people?_ He thought, surprised.

**Just because you have a door in your mind doesn't mean it's going to connect to another person, kit. They could just lead to another part of his mind, or be a gateway leading out to the human world.** Kyuubi instructed, a great presence in his mind.

_Oh, I see. I guess that makes sense. So, which door should I try first?_

**Hm. Let's go with the farthest on the left. It's got the closest smell to yours.**

Naruto nodded, and turned, standing in front of the normal sized door. It opened at once, and he slowly stepped into the darkness.

* * *

_Brr. It's cold here. Kyuubi?_

Silence. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. Where was his youkai? And where was he? This definitely wasn't his mind; it was dark, barren, worse than Tobi's mind.

This wasn't good. Turning around, he immediately ran back into the door that had yet to close, finding himself back in that area where Tobi was waiting with a smirk on his face.

"Not the right one?" Madara asked in an amused voice.

"Oh, shut up. Which one next, Kyuubi?"

**Ah, try the one on the other side. Hopefully that'll lead somewhere.**

And so Naruto went through the one all the way on the right. This one led to a pretty flowery place, with lots of paper butterflies and paper trees. Everything was made out of paper.

_Um, I don't think this one is right either._ Naruto turned to leave this mind as well; he was just a little bit creeped out when a paper cardinal flew up in front of his face.

Finding the right door seemed to take forever; it turned out to be the door right next to the first door he went into. Which was stupid, because he went from right to left after that second door, and ended up only going in the right door as the last door. But, at last he was inside his right mind, where the huge jungle with freethinking animals played.

He sighed; he'd missed this. He was content to just sit there in his made sun and daydream, but Kyuubi put a stop to that.

**Kit, don't you think you should set up that illusion now?**

_Oh, right. Thanks for reminding me._ Naruto nodded, fixing himself in a sitting position. He positioned himself comfortably, before completely emptying his thoughts to begin reciting the incantation Tobi had taught him.

It was going to take a while.

* * *

"Tobi! Tobi, un! Where are you, un?"

The friendly voice called from outside his door, making Tobi jerk back into his body. _Woah. That was weird. Some kid just got into my mind. What could have created that new door?_ Shaking his head, Tobi opened his door, spotting a tall man with long blond hair pulled over one bright eye. He was wearing the black cloak with red clouds that all members of the Akatsuki clan wore.

"Dei-chan! Is Sasori-san all better?" Tobi asked eagerly, glad to be rid of his thoughts.

The man, Deidara, who unfortunately looked like a woman and was constantly teased about it, nodded, happy his little friend had asked about his best friend, Sasori.

"Yes! He's doing really well now, un! He's resting with Zetsu looking over him, un! I was going to ask you if you wanted to take a look at my new clay bird, un!"

Tobi twitched a little; he loved Dei-chan, and he loved Dei-chan's clay birds, but he really didn't want them to explode on him. Deidara, seeing this, grinned.

"Don't worry, un! They won't explode today! I made sure of that, un! After…after what happened to Sasori-danna." He looked downcast, and Tobi immediately went and grabbed the other's cloak.

"Okay, Tobi will come see the clay bird! Where is it?"

"It's with Sasori-danna, un! I was making it while he was sleeping, un!"

The fact that Deidara was saying "un" again meant that he was over his brief depression, and Tobi was glad. He happened to like the blond, and all the other members of the Akatsuki. Even if they usually caused trouble for each other, and wreaked havoc on the world.

That was just the way they worked, and he loved it.

* * *

Naruto collapsed on the ground, tired completely. _Who knew creating an illusion would be so freaking hard?!_ He wondered, panting.

Oh, hush, kit. It wasn't that difficult. At least you got it in one try, rather than taking days to get this technique.

_Hm. You have a point there._

Of course I do. Now go rest. I'm thinking.

Naruto wrinkled his nose at the thought of Kyuubi thinking about anything, but didn't say anything. He was, after all, too weak to defend himself, even in his mind. So he wondered off, leaving Kyuubi alone. And once again, Kyuubi was thinking deep thoughts.

I don't like this. Not one bit. There shouldn't have been that door there. And that Tobi person; he had way too many doors as well. The fact that every one of them led to people surprises me as well. I need to make sure my kit doesn't go in that door anymore.

Perhaps it was time to find a way out of this mind. Perhaps it was time for Naruto to leave. After all, maybe only someone on the outside could rid him of this new…thing that suddenly appeared, something unwanted.

**Yes! Dei-chan showed up! I'm so happy! Sorry, continue reading on and skip this. And there it is. It's a little random, and just not good, is it? This story is just starting with the writing blocks. It sucks! Anyway, please review, and if you have any ideas, I always welcome them, trust me. Flames too. Um, what else? Well, in case you're still wondering, yes this is an Ita-Naru fic; Itachi is showing up in, well, next chapter! He hears about Naruto in the next chapter, and they actually meet in about two chapters. Happy? Yeah.**

**Ayame**


	7. The Weasel Finally Comes Out Of His Hole

**Disclaimer: Well, I was bored so I was thinking of updating. But I couldn't figure out what I was going to update, so I was going through all my stories; apparently, I just updated St. Mark's School For Men and What Dreams May Come a little while ago, so I wasn't going to write chapters with those. Um, Youkai High I'm working on the next chapter, but I haven't gotten around to finishing it, so I don't feel like working on that. And then I decided: I'd do the next chapter for Trapped! I feel like I haven't written this story in a while, so here's the next chapter! Enjoy! And don't forget; Ita-san is finally showing up! I'm so happy!**

**Trapped**

**The Weasel Finally Comes Out Of His Hole!**

Naruto groaned lightly as he rubbed his head, trying to remember what it was that was he'd just dreamed. He rarely dreamed because he didn't need sleep in his mind, but when he did dream it was usually important. Which was why he wasn't too happy now that he couldn't remember this dream!

**Is something wrong, Kit?** A sleepy voice asked next to him; it was none other than Kyuubi, of course; the only other inhabiter of his mind.

Naruto, still feeling anger over the fact he couldn't remember, decided to let that anger out. "Yes, something's wrong, okay?! I can't stand this! I can't stand that I'm trapped here with only one other person, and that's you! And the only way I can leave is through a door which leads to a crazy person! And every day I can feel a hatred growing inside of me that isn't my own, and I hate it!" Naruto's emotions were getting the better of him, and suddenly his burning eyes spilled over.

Kyuubi glanced up in sympathy and sighed; he wrapped a tail around Naruto's shaking form and drew the teenager over so that he was now curled up against Kyuubi's larger, stronger furred body. He allowed the kit to cry out his troubles, sobbing next to him. He'd figured that the kit was feeling bad over being trapped inside his own mind, but he'd never really said anything to that effect. Hearing him suddenly crying over it made him feel really bad, and he longed for a way to help the kit. But that probably wouldn't work as well as he planned. Oh well. The point would be that he tried.

**"Kit, I wish there was something I can do. I'm not really sure yet ****what**** I can do now. I still have some things I need to figure out, but I promise you that soon, I will help you get free."**

Naruto sniffled, but nodded; like he'd said before, he trusted Kyuubi completely. If Kyuubi said he was working on a way to free Naruto, then Naruto had only to wait for it to happen.

* * *

"Deidara-sempai!" Tobi sped down the hall, glancing in each room before he found who he was looking for. "Deidara-sempai!!"

Said blond flinched at the thought of the masked boy finding him and torturing him with the stupid questions he always asked, but Deidara wasn't a coward, and therefore stepped out of his room to meet the child-like man.

"What do you want, Tobi, un? I'm working on my new model, un." Deidara just barely kept himself from snapping at the man, sighing as he blew a few stray bangs out of his eye.

"Tobi was looking for Kisame-san, and couldn't find him! So Tobi thought Deidara-sempai would know where Kisame-san was, and that's how Tobi wound up here!" Tobi replied, his cheerful voice coming from behind that mask with the one black eye.

"No, I don't know where Kisame is, un. Why don't you ask Zetsu, un? I'm sure your tutor knows where everyone is, or should know, un." Deidara told him, tiredly brushing back his blond hair. He hadn't slept in the last two days, worrying over Sasori, who was still bedridden. Just dealing with this overly cheerful body was too much work.

"Oh. Tobi sees now! Thanks, Deidara-sempai!" Tobi turned and rushed off, leaving Deidara sighing after him.

"That boy is just too much. I think I'll get some sleep now." And with that Deidara went back into his room and collapsed on his bed without another thought on his new clay model.

Tobi practically whistled as he skipped down the hall. He made his way through the Akatsuki halls until he came to Zetsu's room which, incidentally, was next to the infirmary. And why was that? Because Zetsu was the official "healer" of the Akatsuki clan, designated such because of his extensive knowledge of the herbal plant life.

Tobi entered Zetsu's room without knocking, always a little creeped out by his mentor's tastes in furniture. There was a simple, unadorned bed for sleeping, a few tables for working, which all Akatsuki members seemed to have in their rooms, and a closet which Tobi wasn't allowed into. He had no idea what was in that closet, but his imagination more than made up for the lack of knowledge.

He found Zetsu standing near the closet, as if debating whether or not he wanted to go in there. He turned around, though, the minute Tobi barged in, as if expecting him. His face, divided into two halves; one white and one black, turned just a little less stoic between his two halves of a green trap at seeing the child-like figure.

"Tobi. What is it you want?" The white half asked, after which the black half said, **"Yeah, spit it out, kid. We're busy."**

Tobi skipped foreword until he was standing just before the large green man, his arms swinging at his sides. "Zetsu isn't busy! Zetsu's just standing there, doing nothing! That isn't busy!"

Both halves of Zetsu heaved a sigh, before stepping away from the closet to lead Tobi to the door. "Is there something you needed me for, Tobi? Did Deidara blow himself up again?"

Tobi shook his head, giving the impression of a smile even though you couldn't see anything but a black hole for an eye and an orange swirl mask. "Tobi was looking for Kisame-san, and Tobi asked Deidara-sempai where Kisame-san was, but Deidara-sempai said Zetsu-san would know where he was! Do you, Zetsu-san?"

Zetsu glanced away, closing the door after them as they left. He pondered the question, before giving the best answer he could. "I would imagine that Kisame is with Itachi; they can usually be found in the cafeteria. Why don't we check there?" He offered, frowning when his black half scoffed. **"Sure. We don't mind attending to a ****child****. This is so stupid. We should just eat him." **Zetsu shrugged. "We can't eat him; we're his mentor. Now shut up."

Tobi watched in amusement, before taking the hand poking out of Zetsu's cloak and trapping it within his own small hand. Then he preceded to lead Zetsu to the Akatsuki cafeteria where, indeed, Itachi and Kisame were sitting at an unoccupied table.

Kisame, who Tobi had named "Fish-face," and "Sharkie," had light blue skin and scales/scars on his neck for him to breathe through. His hair was spiked on his head and on his shoulder was his large sword, Samehada, wrapped in what looked like bandages.

Next to him was Uchiha Itachi. His long black hair was pulled back in a low pony-tail, and his normally black eyes were now the Sharingan red. Next to his nose were what looked like scars. Instead of wearing his Akatsuki uniform, he wore a fishnet shirt and black pants. If Tobi were gay, he'd think the weasal was really sexy but, fortunately for him, he wasn't gay. He didn't think, anyway.

"Itachi-san! Kisame-san! Tobi was looking for you!" Tobi waved his arms excitedly which, in turn, caused Zetsu's arm to wave, for it was still connected to Tobi's.

"What did you need?" Itachi asked in his low voice, a voice trained to strike fear in his enemies. But, Tobi was used to it by now, so it didn't really bother him.

"Tobi needs Itachi to think up a jutsu for Tobi, because Tobi has an invader in his mind, and it's not Tobi! And Tobi wants the intruder out!"

Kisame glanced over at Itachi, confused. How was it possible to have an invader in your mind? How would that have happened? He voiced his questions allowed.

Itachi steepled his fingers together as he thought. "It would have to be the result of a forbidden jutsu performed by someone with a lot of chakra. The only ninja I can think of who would do such a thing would be that snake, Orochimaru. Tobi, how long have you had this "invader?" Do you know who it is?"

Tobi tapped a finger against his mask. "Hm. Tobi found the intruder just a few days ago, although Tobi thinks he's been connected to Tobi's mind for a lot longer than that. The intruder said his name was Naruto; he was just a kid! But Tobi doesn't want to share a mind with Naruto! There was something...not right about him."

Itachi nodded, still thinking as his Sharingan eyes swirled just barely. After a few minutes, he nodded again and stood, waving at Kisame to keep him seated. "Come with me, Tobi. We'll go see Leader-sama to figure out what we should do, alright? But I may not be able to help you; you do know that, right?"

Tobi nodded; as much as he would have preferred skipping down the hall to Leader-sama, he resisted, for he knew Itachi-san didn't do that. "That's alright; Tobi trusts Itachi-san."

Itachi turned his head away, hiding his smirk from the kid. That would only encourage him. God forbid he ever encouraged Tobi with his ridiculous antics.

* * *

**"Kit; Kit, concentrate!"**

Naruto jerked away from his daydream, grinning sheepishly at his kitsune youkai. "Sorry, Kyuu. I was just thinking. What am I supposed to be doing, again?"

Kyuubi sighed; he was in his human form once more. He'd been trying to teach Naruto how to track the things that were in his mind, the operative word being "trying." ADD-Naruto there just couldn't concentrate, though.

**"Forget it, Kit. Let's just go out and play. You need to take your mind off that visit with that Tobi-Madara guy. How 'bout a race along the Red Vine?"** Kyuubi asked, stretching before launching himself into the air.

Naruto nodded eagerly and quickly followed Kyuubi, finding his feet immediately placed on a thick, bloodred vine. Kyuubi was stationed just next to him.

"Ready?" Naruto asked, prepared to lose himself in the silly game.

**"Let's do it, kit. Go!"** Kyuubi commanded, suddenly lurching foreword.

The other followed immediately, laughing in amusement and happiness. These were still the best times he'd ever had; just acting like a kid along with his youkai without thinking of what was going on around him.

**And there's, once again, where I'm ending the chapter. I can't tell if it's long enough, but I think it is. I hope it is. Tachi-san is finally here! Aren't you so happy?! And he'll be there the minute Naruto finally wakes up, which will be...not the next chapter, but the chapter after the next one! I so can't wait for that to happen; although hint: Naruto will be waking up at the very end of the chapter, so he won't really be there. Okay, too long but whatever. The point is he'll be out of his mind! Augh, okay, too many hints! Just please review for me!**

**Ayame**


	8. Reunited, Or Meeting For The First Time?

**It feels like forever since I updated this! It probably has been forever; sorry for that. Oh, and yeah, after this, hopefully I'll be getting to Youkai High. But we'll see. Just so you know, there's going to be more Itachi in this chapter than Naruto, I think, so I hope you aren't disappointed with that. If you are, then I'm sorry, but you'll just have to deal with that.**

**Trapped**

**Reunited, Or Meeting For The First Time?**

Anyone who had met Uchiha Itachi would call him a patient man, and they'd be right. He was very patient.

Then again, everyone had a limit to how much patience they had, and Itachi was reaching his. Anyone who had been around Tobi would be low on patience too.

"Itachi-san! Itachi-san! Itachi-saaan!" Said annoying man's loud voice cut through Itachi's thoughts, causing a dark eyebrow to twitch.

"Tobi, I've told you before not to come into my room many times already, and yet you insist on breaking that rule. What could you possibly want now?" Itachi asked coldly, his black eyes flashing Sharingan.

"But Itachi-san, Zetsu-san sent me to you!" Tobi whined, skipping over to where the lost-nin was leaning over a scroll.

Itachi sighed, moving back to look at the man in the mask. "Alright then, what is it Zetsu wants with me?" He asked with deadly calm.

Tobi waved his arms at his sides. "Well, Tobi isn't too sure. Zetsu-san said something about a new herb that induces sleep, but Tobi doesn't know what that has to do with Itachi-san. So Tobi was sent to get you!"

Itachi stood with a nod. "I see; thank you, Tobi. I'll go see him now, but I want you to stay out of my room until I return. You have my permission to go bother either Kisame or Deidara."

"Yay!!" Tobi cried and raced out of Itachi's room, yelling at the top of his lungs.

Itachi just shook his head. That guy was so weird. He made his way out into the hall, looking left and right; for a moment, he forgot where Zetsu's room was. Then he remembered; the infirmary. He turned left and walked down that way, but before he got to the end of the hall, he turned right, only to continue down another hall. Zetsu's room was at the end of the hall. He knocked softly, waiting, and within moments Zetsu opened the door.

"Oh, good, you're here. I assume Tobi told you what I wanted you for?" Zetsu asked, although his question was nearly overrode by his black half saying, **"Oh, great, we get Mr. Stoic today. Wonderful."**

Itachi shrugged; he only answered the white half. "He just told me about a new herb. You didn't really expect Tobi to remember a message, did you?"

Zetsu motioned him inside. "I suppose not. But he was right about that. I found a plant called the Braeden Leaf. It means "from the dark valley," if you're wondering. It induces a sleep-like trance during which time the one in the trance-like state is extremely susceptible to jutsus. It would be the best type of herb to use on Tobi when you work on removing the intruder from his mind."

Itachi nodded, and studied the plant held in a glass container on Zetsu's worktable. It was a dark red color, with light purple veins. The outside of the leaves, the border of the plant, were the same light purple. The stem, though, was the natural green it was supposed to be. It was very pretty, although it looked deadly. The border, the light purple around the leaves, had jagged edges that looked sharp enough to cut if you grabbed them.

He looked up at the cannible, nodding appreciatively. "So, it'll work? Would I have to take some as well, or just Tobi?"

Zetsu shook his head. "Just Tobi. Although, we have to be careful not to give him too much. His body is small, and if we do give him too much, it could kill him." **"Ooh! Let's do it, let's do it! He doesn't deserve to live! And then, when he dies, we can eat him!"**

Of course, both of them ignored Zetsu's black half.

"When will you have it ready by?" Itachi asked, running a finger along the glass.

"It's ready now, if you want to go ahead and get this over with. You'll just have to go get Tobi so we can do this."

Itachi nodded. "I'll get him now. Get everything ready for us, and make sure it's right. I don't want to have to do this again."

Already, Zetsu was turning to do the work. With a shrug, Itachi left the room, and followed the trail of Tobi's chakra to the man-child's room, where Tobi was laying on his back on his bed.

"Tobi; come. We're ready to remove that intruder of yours."

Tobi immediately hopped up. "Are we going to Zetsu-san's room, then?" He asked happily.

"Yes. You go on ahead; I have to get the scroll with the jutsu from my rooms, alright?"

Tobi nodded and rushed off; finally, finally he wouldn't be connected to that boy with the darkness clinging to him!

* * *

**"Kit, your thoughts are wandering again."**

Kyuubi's voice brought Naruto back, and he shook himself. "What? How'd ya guess, Kyuu?" He asked, not even bothering to deny it. When he didn't get an answer, he looked over at the kitsune youkai, and snorted, quickly covering his mouth with a hand. There was Kyuubi with bright pink fur and a flower crown in his hair, wearing a lilac tutu. It was the funniest sight ever!

Kyuubi twitched, growing more annoyed by the second. **"Naruto, if you do not change me back ****this instant****, I will not stop until I have complete control over you, mind and body, and I will do obscene things to you as long as I'm in control!"** He was yelling at the end of his threat.

Naruto laughed hesitantly before quickly waving both arms, willing Kyuubi back into his normal, orange form. Yep, that was definately better, not to mention safer to look at.

Once Kyuubi was back, he brushed himself off with his muzzle and turned to look at Naruto with a sharp gaze. **"Now, Kit, would you like to explain what has captured your thoughts so insistantly?"**

Naruto turned away, conjuring up a cute little weasal plushie to cuddle while he talked. "Well, it's weird. A few minutes ago, I had a really bad feeling, like I knew something bad was going to happen. I still have that feeling, only it's worse now. I can actually feel something tugging at me; only, it's not really at me, it's more at my mind. I don't like it; it feels like it's trying to make me lose myself." He hugged the weasal plushie tighter, burying his face in its soft fur.

Kyuubi didn't say anything; instead, he sent his consciousness seaking, trying to find the disturbance Naruto had spoken of. There it was; at the very edge of his mind. It appeared near that door...That's it! He turned to Naruto, frowning before forcing the plushie to disappear. "I know what it is; it really isn't as bad as you think. It's near the door to Tobi's mind. I think he's found a way to remove the link in between your consciousness and his."

Naruto jumped up at that, feeling something akin to happiness and horror. "Really?! How is that possible? Should we go check it out?" He asked, already up and running.

Kyuubi sighed and rushed after him; no sense in him running and possibly getting into trouble. He followed the trail all the way up to the door, where he found Naruto staring at the Tobi kid, who seemed to have a taller shadow standing behind him. Kyuubi frowned; swirling red eyes watched he and Naruto closely. He wanted to snarl, but didn't risk it, in case this new person was dangerous, and attacked them. After all, attacking Naruto in his mind would kill him.

"So it's true? You found a way to seperate us?" Naruto asked eagerly, practically jumping up and down with excitement.

Tobi nodded, perhaps just as eagerly. The shadow behind him kept a strong hand on his shoulder, making sure they never broke contact. "Yep! It was..." The shadow squeazed his shoulder in warning. Tobi quickly changed what he was going to say. "It was my friend who actually found a jutsu to do it. But what are you going to do, Naruto? I noticed that you're trapped here, at least it seems so. You can't leave, can you?"

Naruto turned sad, before quickly smiling. "Nope! But it really isn't so bad! I've been here for years! I don't remember how long, but it's been a while. Although, I would like to get out. I can't remember what the real world looks like." He looked downcast, and Tobi moved as if to go foreword, but the shadow restrained him.

Tobi sighed, his one visible eye in the mask moving behind Naruto to Kyuubi's large frame. "Big guy over there. Do you know where your body is? Your real body, that is?"

Naruto looked behind him at Kyuubi, who shrugged. **"I don't know. But I'm guessing you're probably in a hospital somewhere; someone was bound to have found your body that day."**

Naruto looked confused. "There's no way anyone would do that! They all hate me! I'm probably still in that park!"

Kyuubi gave him a look, as if to say, "Are you really that stupid?" **"Kit, listen. If your body were still in that park, you'd be dead. You're obviously in a hospital, and someone's keeping you alive. How or why, I don't really care. But you and I are alive, which means, Tobi, or Madara, whoever you are, he's in a hospital in Konoha, our village."**

Tobi nodded, turning when the shadow pulled at his shoulder. "Okay, thanks! And don't worry, Naruto; I like you! A lot! In fact, I think you're pretty cool! Which is why we're going to try to help you! So just wait some more, and work on that justu of making people see in your mind only what you want them to see. It's coming along nicely!" Tobi stepped through the door, the shadow after him; it seemed to dissolve in the air after them.

Kyuubi grinned and looked over at Naruto, but the kid seemed mororse, rather than happy. **"Kit, what's wrong? Aren't you happy?"** He asked, a little worried.

Naruto shook his head. "Great; now we'll never see them again! I liked him; he was weird, but he was funny, and now that he isn't connected to me, I'll never see him again!" Naruto felt his eyes burn, but he didn't want to cry, not again.

Kyuubi sighed and lowered his head, nuzzling Naruto affectionately. **"Don't worry, kit. You'll see him again; I promise. Just remember what he told you; he likes you too."**

Naruto shook his head, but only half-heartedly. A small flicker of hope was burning in his heart, a hope for the long-sought affection of real humans, when he'd only been hated before.

* * *

Tobi opened his eyes beneath his orange mask, staring up at Itachi with the one eye visible. He smiled, but the weasal couldn't see it. Zetsu was standing off to the side, wondering what had happened.

Itachi stared at the probably beaming boy, before sighing and closing his eyes. "Fine; I'll help you help the kid. But you're finding out what hospital he's in, you're going to take care of him, and you're going to tell Leader-sama about him and teach him of the Akatsuki."

Tobi nodded eagerly. He'd found a new friend, one who seemed really nice, and now even Itachi-sama promised to help him! This was great!

**Wow, it seems like I've been writing this forever. Seriously, I have. I had most of it written like a week ago, and then I forgot I was typing it. But, ignoring that, in the next chapter Naruto's going to wake up! Of course, before that, most of the chapter will be all Tobi, finding him, but yeah. So, review please, and I'll try to update much quicker this time!**

**Ayame**


	9. A Trip and Deidara's Motherly Instincts

Once again, don't own. Once again, will never own. You're better off not reading this.

Summary: Naruto's free of Tobi, but he isn't exactly happy about it. Itachi and Tobi are on the quest to find out where Naruto's body is, but are they going to like what they find?

**Warnings: Just go back to the first chapter, because I'm too lazy to rethink up all that was in it.**

**Trapped**

**A Trip and Deidara's Motherly Instincts**

**xx**

_Hm, a hospital in Konoha, that guy said. And this is a list of all the buildings __in__ Konoha...It appears there's only one hospital. That'll make this easy._ Tobi thought, glancing down at the scroll he'd...confiscated from the library.

"TOBI?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?! AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE HELPING DEIDARA OUT, OR SOME SHIT LIKE THAT?! FUCKING JASHIN!!"

Great, there was Hidan, being as loud as usual. Tobi looked up, his one visible eye turning into a pretty little heart. "Hey, Hidan-san! Guess what; I'm going to be taking a trip to Konoha soon! Wanna come with me?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"WHY THE FUCK WOULD I WANT TO GO WITH YOU?! ARE YOU A DUMB SHIT OR SOMETHING?!" Hidan shouted, waving his scyth around angrily.

"Damn it, Hidan, shut up already! You're so annoying! And Tobi, don't you realize what that trip will cost you?! You're going and wasting needless money!" There was Kakuzu, Hidan's partner, a former bounty hunter who always thought about money.

"It's not going to cost much, Kakuzu-san! And besides, Tobi's got Sasori-san and Dei-chan coming with him! They'll keep Tobi in line!" Of course, they'd been forced to come by Leader-sama, but Kakuzu didn't need to know that.

"Well, fine, just don't spend all our money! And Hidan, stop swinging your damn weapon around or I'll eat your fucking heart!"

Their voices faded as Tobi got up and left the library, off to Sasori-san's room. From inside came the sound of a small explosion, and Sasori-san's voice.

"You stupid brat! I told you not to touch the clay, dammit!" Then he heard a thud, and a loud cry of pain.

"I'm sorry, danna! Forgive me, un!"

Before the arguement could escalate, Tobi knocked on the door, and waited almost patiently for someone to answer the door. It took but a moment, and redheaded Sasori was answering the door.

"What do you want, kid?" He growled, holding a wooden puppet's arm before him.

"Did you forget already, Sasori-san? You, Dei-chan and Tobi are going to Konoha! And we're supposed to be leaving today, remember?" Tobi laughed, waving his arms up and down. Why, he didn't know, but he just did it.

"Oh; right. Have you got your things ready?" Sasori asked, but he didn't move to allow Tobi access into the room. "Brat, have you packed your things for the trip?"

Deidara pushed past Sasori moments later, carrying a small satchel. "Yeah, I'm ready, un! Are we leaving now, danna?" The effeminate man asked, brushing his hair out of his eye.

"Apparently. Have you informed Leader-sama that we're leaving?" Sasori asked with deliberate calm; great, he was going on a trip with two hyper people. This wasn't going to be fun.

"Yeah! Leader-sama told Tobi to leave today, and gave Tobi papers for the trip! But he said it'd be better for Sasori-san to carry them!" And so he handed the papers over.

"Yes, that might be a good idea. And we're just going to the hospital; nowhere else? Good. Lets go."

* * *

"Did you see? Some ninjas from the neighboring countries came in this morning! And they look really weird! One's even wearing a mask! Sasuke-kun, are you listening?!"

Sasuke Uchiha glanced up at the shrill shriek, wincing as he spotted his hated enemy yet the girl who was his teammate, Sakura Haruno. He hated her so much; she was a total stalker, but he'd never say that outloud. He was, after all, an infamous Uchiha. "No, Sakura, I didn't see the new ninja. But I'm sure Neji and Shikamaru did; why don't you go ask them?" Anything to get her away from him.

Sakura tried to pout cutely, but in truth she looked like an ugly bitch who'd just swallowed a lemon. He grimaced. Ew, she really grossed him out. But, seeing the cold glare he sent her way, she _thankfully_ didn't protest the point farther, and left him alone. He hated being so popular sometimes.

* * *

"You said you wanted to see the patients in the infirmary? Why?" Tsunade, the fifth Hokage of Konoha asked the three strangers dressed as Iwagakure nin.

Sasori was the one to step foreword and speak. He didn't trust the others not to say something stupid, something that could ruin this. "We're searching for someone. My wife Din here had a child about 17 years ago; yes, she looks young for her age, I know. But we were attacked by ninja from Suna 14 years ago, and we thought our son to be dead. But we recieved information the other day that he could be here in Konoha, in the ICU unit." All made up of course. She wouldn't be able to tell the difference, not if the smell of alcohol on her was anything to go by.

Tsunade didn't entirely trust them, not yet. "And would you care to tell me the name of your...son? What he looks like?"

Sasori nodded, wearing his mask and his older appearance. "Certainly. As I said, he's about 17, with blond hair. It's very long, since it probably hasn't been cut. He had the prettiest blue eyes as a baby, but they might have changed by now. And his name...is Naruto. Although, the information I recieved told us that he'd been given the last name of Uzumaki here."

That settled it. She did indeed remember Naruto; she'd brought him here herself. And he'd been badly injured, to the point of near-death. And they'd described him almost to a T, so she figured that was good enough for her. "Alright. I'll take you to the ICU unit, and I'll give you the report on his injuries of when we found him. But I have you warn you; it isn't pretty at all." She winced just thinking about it.

Sasori nodded, and Deidara stepped foreword, placing a look of pure horror on his feminine face, complete with make-up, even, to accent his eyes. "Oh, no! What could they possibly have done to my poor, defenseless son, un?!" He whispered, forcibly making his voice lighter. He even swooned slightly, forcing Tobi to catch him.

"It's alright, _sister_. I'm sure that any injuries he had have healed by now." Tobi said, using his much better, not as child-like Madara voice. Of course, it wasn't evil now.

_You guys are laying it on a little thick._ Sasori thought with a sigh, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he followed Tsunade out of her office and down a long hall, passing many ninja and ANBU along the way. The smell of antiscepticide grew stronger the more they walked until finally, Tsunade stopped outside a room, at the very end of the building.

"He's in here. Don't worry if he looks really skinny; he's been fed through an IV these last 14 years. But he's been in a coma all this time; I don't know if he'll wake up." Tsunade informed them, unlocking the door with a key that hung on the necklace she always wore. Years ago, a teal jewel had hung on the necklace, but now it hung around the neck of the young man lying prone on the bed in the dark room.

Sasori, Deidara, and Tobi stepped into the room, their eyes immediately going to the body of Naruto. He looked so innocent, just lying there, his beautiful blond hair that was even lighter than Deidara's framing his face on the pillow. His perfect features, thin and almost gaunt in appearance, were utterly flawless. He wore a hospital gown, and had a needle sticking in his arm. Actually, he had a few needles sticking in him, each one attached to an IV bag. And Tsunade had been right; he looked very skinny, and kind of pale, but he was healthy looking. Sasori looked at Tobi, who nodded; this was the kid. Now Deidara knew what to do.

"That's my son, un! That's him, alright! I'd know him anywhere, un!" Deidara went to the bed and carefully draped himself over the boy, fake shivering and putting a sob in his voice. It sounded very convincing to him, so it should have worked.

"I...see. Here's the report from when we brought him here."

Sasori took the paper and read it. Wounds around the neck and shoulder, wounds on the body, rectal bleeding, bad rectal tearing...it was pretty much all evidance of the rape of a poor little boy. If Sasori had emotions, or if he admitted he had emotions, he knew he'd be disgusted at this report. He folded it up and put it in his pocket. "We'd like to be able to take him home today; is that alright?" Even if it wasn't, he didn't care.

Tsunade nodded. "I'll have a nurse come in and unhook him. We don't have any clothes to give him,..."

Sasori shook his head. "That's fine. We're staying at a hotel on the road back to Iwa; there's extra outfits there for him. Are there any forms we need to fill out?"

"Yes. You can come to my office to fill them out, and I don't want you to worry about a bill. I've been personally taking care of him all these years, and I don't want to take your money for that. I've got a soft spot in me for Naruto." Her voice even turned soft saying this.

Deidara leaped up, not even faking the emotion in his voice anymore. Seeing Naruto, lying there, defenseless, it was like all pent-up emotions just came rising to the surface. Even "motherly" instincts that you'd never believe he, a man, would have. But they were there. "I can't thank you enough for doing all this for my poor Naru-chan, un! We can really take him home now, hmm?"

"Yes, you can really take him home. If you'll just come with me to sign the papers..." Tsunade carefully maneuvered them out of the room, not missing that Deidara seemed to discreetly brush a tear out of his visible eye. Yes, she could definately believe that these people were the family of her favorite comatose patient.

* * *

"You know, for being so skinny, he's kinda heavy, un." Deidara grunted as he lifted Naruto's still unconscious body onto his clay bird just miles outside of Konoha.

"Stop complaining, brat, and get him up. And don't blow this one up, either." He meant the clay bird, of course. Who knew when Deidara would decide to blow this "piece of art" up?

"I wasn't going to, un! Hey, Tobi, are we going straight back to the Akatsuki lair, un?" Normally, Deidara wouldn't even bother with Tobi, but seeing as he was technically the leader on this mission, he had to ask him what they were doing. He sighed happily as he adjusted the slight weight against his front.

"Yeah! Straight back to the lair, to meet Itachi-san! Then he can see what he can do to wake up Naruto-chan!" Tobi laughed happily, waving his arms as he sat utop the huge bird. He was going to flyyyyyy, wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

"Good. I've had enough of you two kids." Sasori grunted; he was the last one on the bird. And he hated being on these damn birds; they were so unstable. And he always couldn't wait to get back on the ground again.

* * *

"Woah." Naruto tilted to the side on his vine, almost falling if one of Kyuubi's tails hadn't caught him.

**"What is it, kit?"** The kitsune asked, just the slightest bit worried.

"Nothing, I don't think. I just had the oddest feeling of moving without really moving. I got dizzy, that's all." He sat against that warm fur, sighing.

**"Oh. It's probably just someone moving your real body around; no need to worry. Tell you what; why don't you rest, and we'll continue training later?"**

Naruto nodded, already falling asleep against that familiar feeling. Kyuubi frowned slightly, before shrugging his powerful shoulders.

_**Well, I guess he'll be leaving sooner than I thought. That's good, I suppose; but I don't really know how I feel about this. Well, it doesn't really matter anymore. He'll be out of my fur soon enough. Hm, I wonder if he'll be seeing that dark stranger again...he was kinda sexy, for a shadow...**_

And Kyuubi decided to plot. He was a fox, after all, and foxes loved to play around with other people's lives. And whose life better to play around with than his host's? And in that large expanse of a mind, there was the sinister laugh of one who decided that being alone wouldn't be so bad after all.

**Okay, there we go. That wasn't so hard to write, now was it? And, yeah, I promised Naruto would wake up, but I decided against it. I want him to wake up forever, not just for a moment, so it'll have to wait. Oh, and don't worry; Sakura and Sasuke will be important to the storyline later on, but they'll be totally um, evil, so yeah. And I guess you can guess what Kyuubi's going to be doing when he's alone now, heh. So, yeah, the next update will be soon, I hope! And in that next chapter, Tobi has some fun, Deidara convinces Sasori to "adopt" Naruto, and Itachi finds out he can wake Naruto up with Zetsu's help! So my promise will actually come next time, I guess. Remember, reviews and flames are always welcomed, my fellow readers and authors!**

**Ayame**


	10. Free Again

Yeah, we're going to go over this every chapter, aren't we? It should be pretty obvious. I own nothing but the clothes on my back and the things in my room! Obviously. And, of course, my yummy Chex Mix! I'm officially cutting back on Salt and Vinegar chips. Oh, that reminds me; I still have no beta for any of my stories, or even Microsoft Word, so please ignore any and all mistakes, or feel free to point them out, if they bother you.

Summary: Naruto's body is heading to the Akatsuki's, and about to run into problems, Sakura's a stalker bitch, Sasuke's an emo kid, and Deidara has motherly instincts. So far, anyway.

**xx**

**Trapped**

**Free Again**

"Yay! Flying is so fun!!" Tobi cried, waving his arms about wildly as he tilted dangerously atop the flying bird.

"Tobi! Stay still or you're going to fall off, dammit, un!" Deidara snapped, feeling the clay bird tilt along with the shifting weight. He'd rather the bird blow up than crash. And by blow up, he meant he'd rather blow it up, of course.

"**Both** of you shut up, or else I'll be making two new puppets by the end of today, in the shape of a demented masked kid and a blond freak." Sasori wasn't in too good of a mood; he felt chakra up ahead, which meant they were going to run into possible enemy ninja. That would be just perfect.

"Of course, danna. I'll be on my best behavior! Un." Deidara smiled to show his sincerity, then glanced down at his hands. Hm, his nail polish was chipping, he noticed. He'd have to redo it tonight. He glanced over at the comatose blond. _Hm, I could do his too! That would be perfect! No, wait, I'd rather do it when he'd awake, un. We'd be doing something really family-like then!_ He giggled to himself.

"Sasori-san, Dei-chan's acting weird again." Tobi pointed out, glancing back at the redhead with the stoic face.

"..."

Tobi continued to wait for a response, but after waiting for over five minutes, he gave up. That guy never really had anything to say, anyway, unless it was about art, of course. So, instead, he glanced back before him, and noticed that Deidara had suddenly gone still.

"We're about to have company. They're only kids, but all the same, danna, what should I do, un?" Deidara asked, serious for once.

Sasori thought about it for a few seconds, before shrugging nonchalantly. "Go ahead and land. I will carry the boy. We're not very far from the base, anyway." And, moments later, his puppet body was supporting Naruto's body on its back, and they were trudging through the forest. It was actually quite annoying.

They came upon two young people, one reclining against a tree with spiky brown hair up in a pony-tail and wearing a vest over a fishnet shirt and pants, and the other a large teenager eat a bag of chips, with rosy cheeks, and blond hair. He was eating really quickly; he'd already worked through the bag of chips before the foursome got with a few yards of the two. The spikey-haired kid yawned before opening lazy dark eyes.

"...Meh. Outsiders. Just what we need, Choji; how troublesome." His eyes closed again, and the other boy, Choji, nodded enthusiastically.

"Don't mind us, un. We're just passing through on our way to Suna." Deidara lied easily, smiling with a tiny wave. Although, he made sure they couldn't see the mouths on his palms.

"If you're passing through, then would you mind not stopping? I'm in the middle of a nap, and you're interrupting it." The lazy nin thought about glaring, but decided it was too troublesome.

"Come on, Shikamaru, you could at least be civil. Don't mind him; he's just tired." Choji smiled, still shoveling food in his mouth.

"We need to leave, anyway. Tobi, stop playing with that butterfly, and lets go." Sasori commanded, watching Tobi jerk up from his squating position. That boy/man was just too much, sometimes. They were already across the clearing, when the voice of Shikamaru stopped them.

"Where are you guys going, carrying someone off from Konoha?" Shikamaru asked, sitting up and opening his eyes fully. The genius sensed something other than what they saw was going on.

"We just told you, un! We're going to Suna. Well, we're taking our son to Suna, to see if the doctors there can help him. Tsunade-hime already approved us, if that's what you're worried about, un." Deidara grinned for effect. He needn't have worried, though.

"Hn. Whatever. It's too hard to think now; go away." With that, the lazy genius nin flopped back, yawning loudly. He was already snoozing by the time the Akatsuki members cleared the area and got on another clay bird.

"That guy was weird, un." Deidara commented, glancing up at the sky.

"You're one to talk, Dei-chan." Tobi deadpanned, even though he was smiling behind his mask.

"How rude, Tobi! Respect your elders!" He was angry enough that he didn't add the "un" on his sentence.

"Enough. You're both idiots, now be quiet. I don't want to hear another word until we're at the base, and I'm back in my room. Or else you'll both be drained of your blood, and I'll use your skins as new puppets."

And what would you know? There was total silence the rest of the way!

**xx**

"Tobi, take him to Zetsu's room. I'll meet you there after I meet up with Leader-sama." Itachi commanded, sparing the blond lying prone on Sasori's back one glance before ignoring him. "Deidara, Konan said she wanted to see you for something. Sasori, you're free of any duties for the rest of the day."

Everyone nodded and went their seperate ways. Itachi slipped down a long hall and stopped before two large double doors. Pein, or rather Leader-sama to everyone but Konan, was behind those doors; now all he needed was a greeting to go inside.

"Enter, Itachi." The cold voice sounded, and Itachi stepped through.

There, perched on the tip of the desk in the room, was the leader of the Akatsuki, Pein, who had practically a hundred piercings on his face. Six spread down his nose, and more wrapped all around his ears, leaving barely any space between each one, and a thick bar going through the lobe to the top. Two spikes were in his bottom lip. He had auburn hair, spiked, and vibrant orange eyes with three circles spreading out in the whites of his eyes. Interestingly enough, Pein had six bodies, all with the same consciousness. He could switch between any of them at will. And although he was the leader of a total bad-ass organization, he had a really playful personality.

"Good afternoon, Leader-sama. What did you want to see me about?" Itachi asked, stopping when he was standing in front of the orange-haired menace.

Pein shrugged beneath his cloak. He tended to wear it all the time, even when they were just resting at the base. It was too troublesome to change sometimes. "I wanted to know exactly how you plan on bringing that boy out of his mind, and who exactly is going to take responsiblity of him while he joins us." Quick, and to the point. Pein wasn't one to waste time on such trivial things as talking. Although, he did like a mean game of shoji.

Itachi answered readily. "Zetsu has concocted a potion that will help stimulate his mind, and using my Sharingan will also help draw him out. If that fails, I can always go back into his mind and pull him out with force. Of course, that could result in severe damage to his mind and personality, so I am hoping the first will work. I have instructed Tobi that he will be caring for the boy, and teaching him all he needs to know about the Akatsuki. Hopefully, that creature will teach him not to get in your way. If not, I will step in." That was actually the longest Itachi had ever spoken to anyone, including Kisame, although usually he had to speak more to Pein anyway.

"I see. I heard from Konan that the boy is actually pretty cute. Is this true?" Pein slanted a sly glance at his old friend, smirking somewhat when Itachi just stared at him. "I'm kidding; relax. Go do whatever you need to do; I'll be expecting to see this new member at dinner tonight. If not, then tomorrow. By tomorrow, we'll have a cloak and ring ready for him, anyway." Itachi nodded and left, and Pein leaned back some more on his desk. "This could prove to be interesting. I truly can't wait until I get to see this little blond beauty for myself."

**xx**

"Tobi, calm down. If you keep bouncing around like that, you're going to injure yourself and the boy." Zetsu's white half commanded, calmly mixing some foul-smelling substance in an ornate bowl. His black half wasn't so nice with his reprimend, though. **"Yeah, knock it off. Do you seriously want to be eaten? Of course, you ****do**** look kinda tasty. Mm, yummy."** He cackled for emphasis.

Needless to say, Tobi was quite used to such threats, considering the fact that he got them daily. Of course, that didn't mean they weren't freaky to listen to. Which was why he did listen, on ocassion. Like now. He settled himself to wait for Itachi on the simple bed in Zetsu's room, sighing in boredom as he waited for the action to begin. Now, if Madara were in control, he'd be raising hell, but thankfully, Madara wasn't. He was.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to grab something from my room." Itachi announced his presence, placing a tiny vial next to Zetsu's bowl of noxious, sickly brown substance. The vial held something black, thick and odorless. Zetsu added three drops of it to mixture without being told to.

"Are you ready?" **"Hurry up."** Came the two responses from the cannibal as he began drawing a complicated seal-looking thing on the blond's bare forehead. It was hard to see what it was, but it looked sort of like an animal.

"I'm on it. Tobi, you will be quiet while I do this, or else I'll tsukiyomi your ass so fast you won't be able to recover from the attack. Ever. No one interrupt me."

Tobi gulped and nodded, and Zetsu stepped back, closing the two venus fly trap-looking things on the sides of his head so he just looked like a large plant with a cloak, standing in a corner. Itachi inhaled, holding his breath, as he closed his Sharingan eyes, painting the same seal on his own forehead as he leaned down to mesh the two seals together. He pointedly ignored the fact that he was now extremely close to the blond teenager, and exited his mind, sending himself deep into the consciousness of the one below him.

**xx**

**"Kit, wake up. You've got company again."**

Naruto grimaced and opened his eyes; for the first time in what felt like an eternity, his mind body ached all over. He didn't want to wake up, he didn't want to move, and he especially didn't want to talk to anyone. He grumbled, trying to ignore the tail insistantly thwapping his backside.

**"Get up. I'm not going to tell you again, kit."**

"I hate you." Nrauto grimaced, but sat up and rubbed his eyes. Even that simple act was painful to him. "What do you want?" He murmured underneath his hand.

**"I told you. You've got company. He's waiting for you over by that doorway."**

Naruto nodded and went to stand up, but found himself feeling too weak to do so. Kyuubi sighed and picked him up with two tails, carrying him the way. And look! There was that pretty sexy shadow, only he wasn't a shadow any more, and he was certainly more sexy when not shadowed. Those flaring red eyes, that silky, long black hair, those scars under his eyes, that weird black cloak with red swirls. Oh, yeah, this guy was perfect. Kyuubi felt like purring in satisfaction.

"Hm? Aren't you that guy that was with Tobi before?" Naruto asked in a low voice, yawning against Kyuubi's fur.

Itachi wondered why the boy was so tired in his mind, but then he remembered the vial. It was supposed to dull the mind so that suggestions and the like were accepted easier. This meant it was working. He nodded to the boy. "That's right. My name is Itachi, and I came to help take you back to our world. Tobi is in the room with our bodies, but he couldn't join us because having too many people in the same mind can prove to be disasterous."

Naruto nodded sleepily; it sounded too technical for him to pay attention to right now. Instead, he got to the quick. "So you're taking me back? Out of here?" He paused, then rushed on. "You're going to take me to my new home?"

Itachi nodded again. "Yes. If you choose to come with me, that is. Although, your furry friend will have to stay here."

This caused Naruto to wake up some. "What? Why?! If you can take me, why can't you take Kyuubi?!"

Kyuubi's demonic eyes rolled heavenward. **"It doesn't matter, kit. Even if you leave, we'll still be able to talk, and when you sleep, you'll be able to visit me. It's better for you to leave, anyway."**

Naruto wanted to protest, but Kyuubi just dropped him on the ground. And painfully, I might add. Itachi actually felt amused by the sight, but it didn't show, of course.

"Fine, I'll go! But I'll be seeing you, I promise you that!" The words were puncuated with a slightly wobbily hand thrown in the air. "Lets go now, then, Itachi!" He wanted to leave now, before he lost his nerve.

Itachi nodded once more, hopefully for the last time. His neck was starting to hurt from nodding so much. He took Naruto's offered hand, feeling the soft skin against his own, and turned away before the boy noticed the slight smirk on his face. He waved a hand, felt his forehead burn where the seal had been placed, and then he was back in his own body, his now onyx eyes looking into sapphire blue. He leaned up, feeling the mixtures stick together at first, and rubbed it off his skin. Honestly, that stuff was foul.

"Well, Naru-chan? How does it feel to be back in your own body?!" Tobi questioned, jumping up and down with excitement next to the futon Naruto's body was lying on.

Naruto tried to speak, but wasn't used to using the muscles in his body, and ended up failing miserably. He looked frustrated when he tried again, and the same thing happened. Zetsu's black half snickered, and his white half explained.

"That's going to be happening for awhile, boy, until you get used to your body. I'll see if I can make something to help you out, but it's debatable. Itachi, would you take Naruto to Tobi's room? I want to clean up my room." **"Yeah, and we're hungry. We don't want to freak him out with what we eat."** His black half stated, although it wasn't like he really cared.

Itachi wanted to sigh, but he wasn't one for it. Instead, he bent and lifted the light body, feeling it tense against him for only a second before relaxing. While Tobi skipped ahead merrily, he walked sedately, ignoring the stares he got from everyone else. Although, one person he couldn't ignore, but wished he could.

"Oh, my poor Naru-chan! Are you okay, un? Are you in pain? Should I get some meds, un?" Deidara practically begged, trying to drape himself over the blond while they were still walking. His face was a mask of concern.

Naruto looked startled; he remembered hearing this voice as a kind of echo, but he didn't know who it was. They appeared to know him, though. Itachi saw his predicament, and shrugged.

"Naruto, this is unofficially your new mother. You'll have to get used to him, although he's a little weird."

Deidara huffed, not noticing Naruto opening his mouth. Naruto concentrated really hard, and with Kyuubi's deeper, farther away voice echoing in his head, he managed one word.

"**T**-t**h**a**n**k**s**." It came out kind of garbled, with accentuating tones, but it was a word. He was actually proud of himself, although it hurt his throat something fierce to speak.

Deidara paused, before suddenly gushing with happiness. "Amazing! He spoke, un! Did you hear, Itachi?! Did you hear, Tobi?! My little baby spoke!" He clapped happily, wincing when his mouths tried to attack each other. Then he paused again. "If I'm Naru-chan's new mommy, does that make danna his new daddy?"

This time Itachi choked; just the thought of that image was enough to make even the most emotionless of people want to chuckle in merriment. Naruto didn't seem to get the joke, though, and snuggled closer to Itachi's warm cloak. Now that he was back in his body, which still ached quite profusely, he decided he needed a nap. A long, long nap.

"Hm. I guess he's tired, un." Deidara looked like a boy who'd gotten his toy taken away, a finger pressed against his lips and a lost look in his eyes.

Itachi rolled his eyes and pushed him away, walking with new purpose down the hall. "Go bother Sasori. Why don't you see if you can convince him to let you adopt Naruto, since you seem to like him so much?" _Anything to get him out of my hair._

The blond, of course, leaped on the chance immediately. "Great! Thanks, Itachi, un! Tell my little Naru-chan I'll see him later!"

**Meh, I'm getting lazy to try and even come up with a better ending for this. So, just use your imagination. You know, that was actually much longer than I thought it was. But, well, what'd you guys think? Good, bad, fucking horrible? Remember, reviews and flames, people! Reviews and flames!**

**Ayame**


	11. Important Notice!

**This is a notice on all of my stories. All of them, except for my Secrets story, are on hold until further notice. NOTE!! This does not mean that I'm not going to finish them; I like all of my stories too much to not finish them. It merely means that I won't be updating for a while. The reason for this is because I'm trying to finish two requested one-shots; one is about half-way done, and I've started the other. So I ask that all of you, my readers, please be patient until I am able to continue these stories.**

**Arigatou,**

**Ayame**


	12. A Not So Quiet Morning

Well, I'm back again, as you can see. Huzzah. My self-imposed isolation is finally over!!!! Anyway, once again I do not own Naruto. If I did, then I wouldn't need to write all this fanfictin, now would I? Enjoy this new chapter.

**Trapped**

**A Not So Quiet Morning**

**xx**

_**Kit, it's time to wake up.**_

Naruto opened his eyes at Kyuubi's insistant voice, finding himself staring into Itachi's red eyes. He nodded in greeting; his throat still wasn't feeling too good.

"It's time for breakfast, and Leader-sama made it clear yesterday that he wanted to see you today. The bathroom is over there; you have half an hour to wash up, use the bathroom, and brush your teeth." Itachi tied his hair back in his customary low pony-tail, watching out of the corner of his eyes as Naruto went into the bathroom. But since he didn't close the door Itachi frowned and followed him. He found the boy standing there, looking confused. "Is something wrong? Oh, wait, you haven't had to brush your teeth or shower in years. Do you still remember how to go to the bathroom?" The boy nodded and Itachi could have sighed in relief. "Good. Over here is your toothbrush and toothpaste. Put a little toothpaste on the brush and use it to clean your teeth. Try not to choke yourself and don't swallow the foam. Spit it out when you're done." He decided to supervise to make sure the boy did it right.

Naruto managed to get through the brushing with Kyuubi's help. What a youkai would need to know about brushing teeth for he didn't know but it helped him, so that was okay. When he was done he washed his mouth with the mouthwash laid out and turned back to Itachi, waiting.

_I can't believe I'm going to be doing this. Just imagine it's Sasuke; that'll work._ Itachi thought to himself as he went to stand in front of Naruto. "Now for your bath. This will be the only time I'm doing this, so pay attention and try to remember what to do later. Now, raise your arms." Within no time Naruto was unclothed and relaxing in the large bath, surrounded by hot water and the smell of smoke. "This is the shampoo. You use it to wash your hair. Since you don't have a lot you only need a little bit." Itachi showed Naruto his hand where he squirted the shampoo. Surprisingly gentle for him he lathered the shampoo into those golden locks, making them as soft as his own hair.

Naruto fought back a blush as those hands worked magic on his head, then his shoulders and the rest of his body. On one point his mind was memorizing everything so he could use the information later but on another point he was totally focused on the feel of those fingers brushed over his body. He hadn't felt a real touch in so long that this was like heaven for him. Even Kyuubi was purring in his mind.

"There; all done. Now you pull the plug to let the water drain and turn on the shower to get off the extra soap, and anything else still sticking to you. Make sure you get off everything before you put on this towel. When you're done you dry yourself off completely and step into these clothes. You don't need help with that, do you?"

Naruto silently shook his head and Itachi left the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Not ten minutes later Naruto was out as well, clothed in loose-fitting redish pants and a black muscle shirt. He looked nervous, standing there with a slight blush on his cheeks. Itachi motioned him over and finger-combed his hair, flicking off more water.

"Let's go. If we don't get there early enough then Hidan will eat all the food and there'll be nothing left for us. And Kakuzu refuses to buy us more food because it would be a waste of expenses." Itachi waited for Naruto to stumble out of the room before following, making sure to close the door behind him. No use leaving it open for whoever to walk in. "Now, don't you feel better after a bath?"

Naruto nodded slowly; he still didn't trust his voice yet. He wondered if that plant guy would have that potion or whatever that was supposed to help him speak better.

"Oh, Naru-chan! You're awake, un! Itachi wouldn't let me visit you last night; feeling better, hmm?" Deidara seemed to pop up out of nowhere, rushing over to Naruto and Itachi as Sasori followed at a slow pace.

Itachi felt like sighing; just once couldn't he be spared the torment of having to deal with Deidara, so early in the morning? Thankfully though Sasori was there to curb his enthusiasm.

"This is what the boy looks like after he's woken? A bit of a shrimp, isn't he, brat?" Sasori looked Naruto over, deciding that after a bath and maybe once he got some food in him the kid definitely wouldn't be that bad looking. Itachi was sure to have a fight on his hands for that boy.

"Danna! Naru-chan can eat with us, can't he, hmm? He doesn't have to sit alone, right?" Deidara added just the hint of a whine into his voice, looking pleadingly at Sasori with his one visible eye.

"Ugh. Fine. He can sit with us." Sasori grunted, walking into the cafeteria.

"Sasori-sama! Deidara-sama! Ooh, and Itachi-sama and Naruto-chan!" Tobi waved excitedly, nearly toppling off the bench he was sitting on. Zetsu had to catch him and keep him steady.

"Sit down, brat." **"Or else I'll have a new breakfast menu."** His two heads commanded as he carefully stirred something green in a bowl.

"Sorry, Zetsu-sama! Tobi was just so excited to see everyone! He'll be a good boy from now on!" The masked kid didn't look like he had any breakfast with him. Of course, it had to be hard to eat with that mask on.

"Oh, so this piece of shit is the new kid? Looks like quite the little fucker."

Naruto turned around at the harsh words, although they held no hint of malice in them. Behind him stood a youngish man with slicked back silver hair and pretty red eyes. His face had a harsh look to it and he didn't appear to be wearing any shirt to go with his simple jeans. Naruto could see that his chest was a mass of scars and cuts, recent and old. Standing beside him was another man, this one wearing a white mask and hood that didn't cover his ancient green eyes. He was wearing a long-sleeved, loose shirt and jeans as well, with socks. The kitsune couldn't help but wonder what he looked like under that hood.

"Don't mind him, boy. He can't help but swear. Hidan, this time try to control your hunger. I don't feel like spending more money than needed on food." His voice was deep but not hauntingly so.

"Kuzu you fucker! I'm not the one who eats all the food! It's that shitty bottomless pit Konan who packs it all fucking away!" Hidan growled then froze, as if just realizing what he said. "N-no, wait a fucking second, Konan! I didn't fucking mean it! I swear to Jashin!"

A woman with blue hair and a paper flower in said hair came out of nowhere, her face a mask of rage as she rounded on Hidan. "Hidan, you asshole! You damn well better apologize! I'M NOT FAT!"

Naruto edged away, realizing that the hooded man was doing the same, leaving his partner to save himself. "I'm Kakuzu, by the way. I take it you're Naruto? Leader-sama told us about you. I hope you don't eat too much." Naruto frowned; that didn't sound too nice.

"Don't let him get to you. Kakuzu's a bounty hunter; he only cares about money, un." Deidara patted the seat beside him, the one not taken over by Sasori's puppet frame. "I went ahead and made a plate for you, Naru-chan. Hope you like it, un!" He seemed to be making a point to ignore the rather loud commotion going on near the entrance.

Naruto looked down at the plate, seeing unfamiliar objects presented to him. What was this? Food? He couldn't remember what food was. What was he supposed to do with it? Or rather, why were the others putting this "food" into their mouths? Naruto looked questioningly at Itachi, seeing him as the only real anchor in this confusion.

Itachi grunted; what was he, a parent now? "You eat it, Naruto. It helps to get your strength back. If you feel a...tightening in your stomach, and start feeling dizzy, it means you're hungry, and need to eat. Here, try the sausage. Kakuzu made breakfast today, so I'm sure it's safe to eat. Leader-sama, don't you think you should rein in your girlfriend before she kills Kakuzu's only lasting partner?"

The orange-haired man full of piercings with the weird eyes that was sitting across from them turned to look at Itachi, smirking a little bit. "Have you forgotten, Itachi? Hidan can't die." Then he turned those odd eyes to Naruto, who was cautiously sniffing the sausage speared on the fork Itachi was impatiently holding out to him. "Glad to see you awake, Naruto-kun. Hm, Deidara didn't exaggerate, did he? You are a cutie."

Naruto, for some odd reason, felt his cheeks heat at the statement as he sent another questioning glance at Itachi. The meat smelled nice but he wasn't sure he wanted to try it yet. He still didn't know what it might do.

Itachi set the fork back on Naruto's plate. He wanted his own breakfast, dammit! Naruto watched with curious eyes as the Sharingan wielder spread butter on a role before raising it to his lips. His curiosity became even more piqued when he saw those pale cherry lips part to show white teeth that bit off a bit of bread, chewing thoroughly before swallowing. Naruto saw that pale neck move and had the fleeting urge to bite down hard, right where that small bulge at the center was.

Itachi pretended to ignore the heated look he was receiving from Naruto, but it was hard. Having been celibate now for the better part of his life he knew that he was just looking for something, something he didn't want to take from a mere child. And a mentally stumped child at that. So instead he pushed the glass of milk closer to Naruto, hoping he'd take the hint and drink. After another long moment full of sniffs and the tiniest hint of a whine he lifted the cup to his lips, taking cautious sips. Itachi couldn't know that he was using Kyuubi to help him through what he was supposed to be doing; living inside his mind he hadn't needed food or drinks.

Naruto was pleasantly surprised by the taste of the milk. It was cool and soothed his throat, and tasted amazing to him. Even Kyuubi loved the taste; his contented mewl filtered in Naruto's mind.

"Is it good, hmm? I've never liked milk myself." Deidara leaned over, lifting the still-speared sausage and taking a small bite. "Mmm! Meat tastes good too, un! You should try some! Just take a little bite, un!"

The milk had made him as content as the fox so Naruto complied without thought. He bit off a piece, his sharp canines making the job rediculously easy, and moved it around in his mouth, as he thought Itachi had done. It didn't seem so bad, a little overcooked for his tastes, so he swallowed. Almost immediately it got obstructed in his throat and he franticall swallowed some more, trying to do something, anything, to get out the offending object.

Itachi jerked when he heard Naruto gag and turned to the boy, seeing his face and around his lips rapidly turning blue. He was choking! _Dammit! Doesn't he know to chew his food?!_ Itachi thought frantically, wondering if he should do something.

Thankfully though Zetsu stepped in, pounding Naruto on the back swiftly and efficiently until Naruto managed to cough up the meat. It landed in Pein's drink; the orange-haired man pushed it off to the side with a disgusted face. Naruto coughed loudly, shaking, as he glared at the rest of the sausage. He definitely wasn't going to be eating that again.

"Oh no, Naru-chan! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Zetsu, make it better!" Deidara commanded, his chin resting on Naruto's golden head.

"Here; it's a potion to help your body recall the natural functions of the years before you became trapped in your body." Zetsu handed Naruto a cup of the grin liquid; it surprisingly didn't smell too bad. **"We spent the last hour making that, and all night to think it up. Be greatful, brat."**

Naruto took the cup with a hesitance anyone would have in his position. He went to sniff the cup, curious about its contents, but Itachi stopped him with a look.

"Just drink it, Naruto. It will help you, and I promise you you won't choke. Later on tonight you can ask Kyuubi what you can and can't eat. Alright?" It wasn't really a question.

Naruto nodded and quickly gulped down the contents; it certainly didn't taste as good as it smelled. His stomach recoiled for all of two seconds before it settled and he leaned back against Deidara, suddenly feeling tired even though he'd just woken up.

"Oh, right; I forgot to mention. Because this is bringing about functions from years ago he'll go to sleep again." **"Have a nice nap, kitsune."**

Deidara sighed when Naruto slumped against him, a happy little smile on his face. "Aw, doesn't he just look so sweet, danna, hmm?" He cooed, running his fingers through those sunshine locks, careful of the mouth on his palm. "So? Did you think about it, un?"

Sasori turned away. "It's only been one day, brat. Haven't you heard of patience before?" When Deidara once again turned those puppy dog eyes on him he couldn't resist. After all, who could really resist the eyes of a true and pure uke? "Fine; you can adopt him. But you're helping Tobi take care of him. And if I get one word of him destroying something, or messing around with my puppets, I'll kill you and the boy. Understand?"

Deidara only heard the first part before he squealed and hugged Naruto's unresisting form close. Yes! He had his Naru-chan now!

Meanwhile, everyone else finished their breakfast including Konan. That is, everyone besides Hidan. He was currently nursing numerous wounds from a blue menace, a dazed look in his eyes as he was placed back in his room. Sometimes the Jashinist just shouldn't speak.

**Well? Well well well well well? What'd you think? Not bad for coming back after a few months, if I do say so myself. No, I'm kidding. I don't know what to think. Although I did have a giggle or two myself when I read what I wrote about Hidan and Konan. Ah, I love Hidan and Kakuzu. Anyway! I hope it's long enough and good enough! Don't forget to review for me and tell me what you think! Please review!**

**~Ayame~**


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